


Antipathy Loves Company

by TheEndeavorNetwork



Category: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, DC Extended Universe
Genre: Can be read as Mercy x Lex if you want, First Meetings, Gen, Mercy and Lex vibe off each other's evil, Mercy is mysterious so no backstory, Minor Violence, Pre-BvS, Villains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24816934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEndeavorNetwork/pseuds/TheEndeavorNetwork
Summary: Mercy Graves finds it odd that Lex Luthor wants a female bodyguard, but the opportunity looks too good to pass up. She'll do whatever if takes to get the position, and she has a feeling he can appreciate a cold-blooded approach.
Relationships: Mercy Graves & Lex Luthor Jr.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here I go again, writing about Mercy Graves and Lex Luthor for the five other people in the fandom who care about them. XD Honestly, how are they not a bigger deal? They're iconic!
> 
> Ah, well. This is mostly for my own satisfaction anyway.
> 
> P.S. Lex makes his secretary do some weird things as a way to mess with her.

Mercy parked the car and stepped out into the parking lot of the gym. It was nighttime, and there were hardly any other cars around.

She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but whatever it was, it would be profitable. An advertisement had gone out that Lex Luthor Jr. was looking for a bodyguard/personal assistant. It was strange for one person to serve both roles. It was even stranger for a male client to ask for all women applicants. Mercy thought it was suspicious, but the salary convinced her to try out. She submitted the standard paperwork: Resume, recommendations, etc. After a couple weeks, Luthor’s secretary contacted her with directions to this place for a “physical assessment.”

She carried a duffel bag over her shoulder containing a change of clothing. Her current attire wasn’t appropriate for any kind of physical activity, especially her heels. She entered the dimly lit lobby. A woman was sitting near the door who looked extremely out of place. She was dressed in a suit and wore glasses.

“Oh, hello!” the woman said and stood, “My name is Ms. Pierce. I’m Mr. Luthor’s secretary.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mercy said, smiling and shaking her hand.

“I’m sure this must all seem odd, but Mr. Luthor likes things to be done a particular way,” Ms. Pierce rambled nervously, “If you’ll just follow the corridor down here to the changing rooms, you can get ready. Then, go to the wrestling room.”

So, it was that kind of assessment?

“Thank you,” Mercy said, nodding and heading down the hall.

Ms. Pierce was clearly out of her depth. She was just here to coordinate things. Mr. Luthor must have another person here who was qualified to assess their abilities. Mercy found no one else in the changing room. She was right on time, so either no one else had come yet, or there were others already waiting. She changed into a sports bra and yoga pants. She came prepared for every possibility, so she had gauze packed in her bag. She wrapped her hands and took out her earrings. Then, she headed for the wrestling room.

There were a few candidates there already. None of them looked anything like her. Some were stocky, others were tall, but all of them were muscular. Despite her intensive training and experience, Mercy had never managed to build much muscle mass. She was agile, though. Thin, but deadly, like a sword. Her appearance served her well when opponents underestimated her. The other women stared back at her, summing her up. Mercy scanned the room and saw no one who might have been sent by Luthor. What she did see was a tripod and camera facing them. A chair stood beside it with a paper on top of the seat.

More candidates trickled in over the next twenty minutes till the total came to 24. Then, Ms. Pierce came in.

“Thank you for waiting so patiently, everyone! Mr. Luthor was very excited by your applications, and he’s eager to learn more about each of you.” She stopped by the chair and picked up the paper. “Mr. Luthor would like to see how you defend yourselves, so he’s arranged for us to meet here today for a sparring session. I’ll read your names, and you’ll pair off with your partner. We’ll begin with…Franks and Sterling.”

The two women stepped out from the group. They were both built like MMA fighters.

Ms. Pierce continued, “If you’ll permit me, ladies, Mr. Luthor asks that I record this session for him to review.”

No one protested, so she pressed a button on the camera and sat down.

“Uh, well…I suppose you can begin.”

Franks and Sterling faced each other on opposite sides of the ring. Sterling turned to Ms. Pierce.

“Are there any rules?” she asked.

Ms. Pierce blinked. “Rules? Oh…” She scanned the paper. “Nnno, sorry. It doesn’t say anything here about rules.”

Sterling shrugged and turned back to Franks. “Guess we’ll make up our own? Tap out?”

“Sounds good.”

Mercy watched their moves carefully, noting their flaws. She found herself glancing at the camera between matches. She was starting to understand what kind of man Lex Luthor was. This was going to be more interesting than she initially thought.

After most of the others had gone, Ms. Pierce finally called her name. “Graves and York?”

York was average height, lean, blonde hair in a short braid. They both raised their arms defensively, waiting for the other to make the first move. York struck first, but Mercy dodged. They each landed a few hits and handled themselves well. But Mercy wasn’t here to do well. She was here to excel. So, when the opportunity presented itself, she threw her fist and broke York’s nose. York cursed and stumbled back, falling on the mat. The other candidates cried out in anger, and Ms. Pierce gasped.

“Ms. Graves!” she squeaked in alarm, “What are you doing?”

York writhed in pain. She was covering her nose, and blood was spilling from between her fingers and dripping onto the mat.

“You’re not supposed to go for hits like that,” Franks spat at Mercy.

“There were no formally established rules,” Mercy said calmly, “The first two did it, and all the rest assumed they should follow suit.”

“But Ms. Graves!” Ms. Pierce interjected, “This behavior is really not appropriate.” She seemed to steel herself for some confidence before continuing. “I think you should leave.”

Mercy nodded coolly. She wiped the sweat off her brow and stared directly into the camera lens before walking past York and out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

She wasn’t surprised when she got the callback. Ms. Pierce sounded uneasy on the phone as she informed Mercy that Mr. Luthor wanted her to come in for a personal interview. The morning of, she made sure she looked sharp in a grey herringbone dress. She wore her glasses, as well, hoping it would give her the personal assistant look. She drove to the LexCorp building in Metropolis and got in using the temporary ID badge they sent her in the mail. The interior was the typical open-concept, relaxed workplace that all the big tech companies were emulating. The staff were young and fresh-faced. Lex Sr. had only been dead for ten months, but his heir had already consolidated the company and given it a face-lift.

Ms. Pierce intercepted her on the first floor and ushered her up a couple stories to a reception room. Inside was a desk for Ms. Pierce and two white couches facing each other. Mercy recognized the three other women there, including York, who wore a black suit. Her nose was discolored but fixed on straight. Mercy met her glare with a polite nod. The other two women were also giving off hostile vibes, so she elected to stand rather than sit with them.

At the other end of the room was a pair of light green, frosted glass doors. Mercy wondered what kind of man she was going to meet when she went through them. She had seen Luthor before, in TV ads and magazine features. He projected the image of a youthful genius trying to spur progress in the world. A little awkward, neurotic, even dopey. But she seriously doubted that was all there was to him. Her instincts never failed her, and they alerted her to a sense of danger.

Ms. Pierce’s phone rang, and she answered it.

“Yes, sir? Yes, she’s here. Right away, sir.” She hung up and looked at Mercy. “Ms. Graves, he’d like to see you now.”

She wasn’t expecting to go first, but she wasn’t about to complain. She strode forward and pushed open the cold metal handle.

The office was cavernous and bright. The entire opposite wall consisted of windows overlooking Metropolis’s skyline. A modern metal desk was positioned in the middle of the view. Seated behind it was Lex Luthor. He smiled and jerked his head up.

“Ms. Graves!” he said as he sprang to his feet, “What a pleasure to meet you! How are you?”

She felt odd having to cross the length of the room while exchanging pleasantries.

“I’m well, thank you, sir. How are you?”

He shrugged and shoved his hand in his pocket, although he was still beaming. “Wonderful!”

When she finally got close enough, his hand reemerged from his pocket and shook hers enthusiastically. She noticed he was wearing a graphic tee under his loose-fitting white blazer. The blazer was the only formal thing about his outfit. Jeans accompanied the tee, ending with white sneakers.

“Please, sit down.” He gestured to the chair, and she sat. “Caramel?”

There was a bowl on the corner of his desk.

“No, thank you,” Mercy said with a smile.

“Ah. Alright.” He plopped back down. “Straight to business then, shall we?”

Luthor flipped open a folder. She recognized her picture pinned to the top of the first page. His eyes skimmed the page, not seeming to read any of it. He started speaking anyway.

“Your recommendations are impressive. Not much background information, though. No childhood story about always wanting to become a bodyguard?”

He looked up with a smile, and she chuckled obligatorily.

“I like to keep my personal and professional life separate, sir.”

“Hm,” he nodded and glanced back down, “Mercy Graves…That’s an interesting name. ‘Mercy.’ Your parents must have really loved you to name you something like that.”

He looked up, but she was silent. He was playing a game now.

“My father named me after himself,” he continued and was suddenly on his feet. He grabbed a blue stress ball and paced a little, gesticulating abstractly. “My mother didn’t have much say. ‘Mercy’ sounds like a name a mother would give, don’t you think?”

He stopped pacing. She didn’t want to answer, but it felt unavoidable. Her lips moved slower than she wanted them to as they slowly parted to form some word. He waved his hand.

“Never mind, it doesn’t matter. You sure you wouldn’t like a candy?”

“No, thank you.”

“Hm. Why would you like to work for me?”

He had stepped around the side of the desk and was sitting on the edge. A faint smile twitched on his lips. Smug, like he knew what a bullshit question it was and that she would give a bullshit answer.

_“Impress him.”_

“The money is very good, sir.”

His eyes widened, and his mouth split into a grin. He giggled and squeezed the stress ball.

“Mercy – can I call you Mercy? – I believe we understand each other, so let’s put ceremony aside. There’s something about me that’s eating you. So, why don’t you ask me? Go on.”

His eyes glinted eagerly. Mercy stared at him contemplatively for a moment before deciding she didn’t have much to lose.

“Why do you want a female bodyguard?”

He grinned again, but his face was darker this time. “There’s the million-dollar question,” he said, wagging his finger, “But of course, that’s not your starting salary.” He broke eye contact in favor of the wall across from him. “I find men, generally, to be sloppy, unreliable, disappointing creatures. Don’t you agree?”

His face crumpled into a deepening scowl as he listed his perceived attributes of men, but it brightened as he turned for her opinion.

“You believe a woman would do a better job, sir?”

“Yes! I don’t want some brute lumbering around behind me everywhere. So, what do you say?”

“Say to what, sir?”

“The job, of course! It’s yours, if you want it.”

Mercy acted more surprised than she was. Granted, even though he took a liking to her, he was too unpredictable to have known for sure. She blinked twice and smiled to demonstrate graciousness.

“Thank you, sir. I’d be delighted to accept the position.”

“Fantastic! Ms. Pierce will hash through the details with you, including your pay and all that boring stuff.”

He offered his hand again, and she stood to shake it. With his left hand, he picked up the bowl of caramels and held it up to her. This time, she took a piece. She could see in his eyes that he knew she was performing, and vice versa. But he was enjoying it, regardless.

“Till next time, Mercy,” he said as she walked toward the door.

“Mr. Luthor,” she said before exiting.

In the reception room, she waited by Ms. Pierce as the secretary took a call. She raised her eyebrows, but parroted, “Yes, sir,” in a rather bemused voice. She hung up and turned to the other candidates.

“Uh, ladies. I’m terribly sorry, but Mr. Luthor isn’t conducting any more interviews today.”

“Is he rescheduling?” York asked.

“No…He’s already made a hire.”

They stared at Mercy, who made no attempt to hide her self-satisfaction. She sat down lightly in front of Ms. Pierce.

“Mr. Luthor says you’ll take me through the paperwork.”

“Ah, yes…Of course.”

She fumbled to find the papers in her drawers. Meanwhile, the others filed out, glowering at Mercy on their way.

Mercy started work the following week. Her first task was to accompany Luthor from his home to LexCorp. He seemed happy to see her, although he was silent during the drive, absorbed with a spreadsheet on his tablet. She followed him to his office and was confused that Ms. Pierce was absent.

“She’s been transferred,” he explained, “She worked for my father. This is your desk now.” He paused, and the corner of his mouth twitched up in a smirk. “I don’t think she liked you very much.”

Mercy found herself smirking, too. She wasn’t performing anymore. In fact, she quite liked him. They’d get along just fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave a comment!


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